Chapter 331: Can Xu Minghui fry pig skin, weave wool, and brew soy sauce to make soybean paste?
The Xu family has never split up, but the paths of the three branches are becoming increasingly different.
Aunt Xu from the second house ran an embroidery shop. Xu Minghui learned the ways of the silk merchants and started to resell raw silk and brocade. On the one hand, he could meet the needs of Aunt Xu's embroidery shop, and on the other hand, he could make a profit from the difference.
The third owner of the house was brewing wine, and the tavern he opened in a deep alley in the city was doing a booming business. Uncle Xu traveled back and forth between the interior and the exterior of the Great Wall, selling the liquor produced by the brewery to the outside of the Great Wall, and the caravan gradually grew in size.
The people of the second and third houses gradually moved away from their family's farmland, and their ways of survival were no longer limited to the crops in the fields.
But the backbone of the family still lies in the farmland.
Sang Zhixia quickly washed up and lay down on the edge of the bed, letting Xu Yu take a dry towel to twist her hair. She closed her eyes and said lazily, "Second Aunt's embroidery shop and Third Uncle's winery both gave us a profit, and I can get a lot of dividends every year."
In fact, the profits from these two places were not as much as those from the farm, but both places believed that Sang Zhixia should get a share, and they were never vague when settling accounts and paying the money.
The farm made a lot of money in the first year, so Sang Zhixia followed suit and gave a portion to the second and third wives. But now she thinks it is inappropriate and unclear.
Xu Yu tapped Sang Zhixia's shoulder, signaling her to move a little further out. Sang Zhixia kicked the quilt a few times and yawned, "They say even brothers have to settle accounts. Second and Third Aunts have been helping me all the time, and they often help me keep an eye on the farm."
"We've gained real benefits, so we can't keep pretending to be ignorant."
People's hearts need benefits to be calmed.
If nothing goes wrong for a day or two, there will be no complaints, but as time goes by, who can predict what will happen in the future?
There are more and more ways to make money on the farm. Although it may not be a mountain of gold and silver, it is still real money.
Some favors need to be maintained with real money, otherwise no matter how great the favor is, it will not be able to withstand the test.
Xu Yu heard the implication in Sang Zhixia's words and whispered, "So you plan to follow the example of Third Uncle at the winery and allocate a portion of the farm's income to the second and third wives every season?"
Sang Zhixia nodded first, then shook her head.
"Second Aunt and Third Uncle and Third Aunt all make a lot of money. If I tell them directly, they will definitely refuse."
"So I thought, why not just give it to the little ones?"
The more Sang Zhixia thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. She rolled over and sat up and said, "Xu Minghui and Xu Mingyang from my second aunt's family, Yanran from my third aunt's family, and Xu Mingxu and Xu Jinxi from our family."
"Draw up a charter, saying that we'll take some of the farm's annual earnings and divide it equally, giving each of the five of us a share."
Boys should think of it as saving up for marrying a wife, and girls should think of it as saving up for a dowry.
As long as the farm exists, no matter how much profit it makes, the listed rules will remain valid and will be distributed every year.
Xu Yu didn't say anything. Sang Zhixia tugged at his finger and said, "Even if Yanran and Jinxi grow up and get married in the future, this will still stand."
"They live in their husband's family, and every year when the date comes, the promised bonus silver is sent to them on time. It is a kind of confidence given by their natal family both internally and externally. With money in their pockets, no one dares to bully them anyway."
The dowry is given all at once, how can it be as stable as a steady stream of money that will last a long time?
Xu Yu thought that even if it wasn't like this, no one would dare to bully the girls of the Xu family.
But when he thought about the miserable life of Sang Zhixia when she got married, his eyes darkened and he smiled softly.
"As the eldest brother, I can't be as thorough as you think. No wonder the younger ones are so close to you."
"How much do you plan to share?"
Sang Zhixia thought about how Xu Yu made money quickly and spent it ruthlessly, and after a moment's deliberation, she said, "30%?"
The miscellaneous income from the farm adds up to a considerable amount. Thirty percent may not sound like a lot, but when divided equally among everyone, it adds up to a considerable amount over time.
Xu Yu didn't say yes or no directly. He gestured for Sang Zhixia to sit closer and continued to help her dry her hair. He said slowly, "I think this method is feasible. However, regarding the specific amount, Aunt Thirty and the others might not agree."
"But there's no rush. Once the shop is done these few days, I'll invite Second Aunt home with me, and then invite Grandpa to talk to us slowly. We'll eventually figure it out."
Sang Zhixia was extremely sleepy. She forced herself to stay awake and nodded and said okay. She didn't even realize when she fell asleep.
In the following days, the business of Hezhongxiang was still booming, but just as Sang Zhixia had predicted, it was not as amazing as the first day.
After a few days of welcoming and seeing off guests and checking the accounts, the capital invested previously was doubled, and Sang Zhixia had to return to the village early at Xu Yu's urging.
On the carriage back to the village, Sang Zhixia stared at Xu Yuyun. "I've already agreed with Yang Er that I'm going to talk to the owner of the herbal medicine shop. Why are you insisting on going home now? Is there something at home that's tempting you?"
"Isn't my soul in you?"
Xu Yu said with a thick face, "Zhizhi, we agreed before we left that we would stay in the city for a maximum of five days, and today is already the sixth day."
"But there's nothing else to do but hurry home."
Sang Zhixia was so angry that she grabbed a walnut and threw it at Xu Yu, saying unhappily, "If the negotiations with the herbal medicine shop fall through, you can just go up the mountain and dig up the walnuts one by one."
Xu Yu caught the walnut with his backhand and crushed it with a crack. He stuffed the intact walnut kernel into Sang Zhixia's mouth, poked her cheek, which was bulging with the walnut kernel, and said with a smile, "Yang Er is the person you specially selected to deal with the Hezhongxiang business. If he can't even handle such a small thing, wouldn't it be better to replace him earlier?"
"Xue Liu is staying in the store too. With so many people watching over us, there won't be any mistakes. I don't need to go up the mountain to dig for the medicine you want."
Sang Zhixia was speechless as she chewed the walnut kernels in her mouth. Xu Yu stretched out his big hand and held her in his arms. He bent down and kissed her hair and said, "Zhizhi, everything is settled with He Zhongxiang. Do you have anything else to worry about next?"
Sang Zhixia adjusted herself to a comfortable position and leaned back, saying lazily, "No, there's still a lot to do."
"Making soap requires more pig bristles. I also want to open a shop in the city selling brushes and writing brushes. I can also think of ways to use the pig skin. I could boil it, fry it again, and sell it as crispy skin. It can be stored well and is delicious in cooking."
"We've almost run out of goose and duck down on the farm. I'm going to discuss with the embroiderer Second Aunt hired to figure out how to mix the selected fine goose and duck down into cotton to make clothes."
Sang Zhixia counted off the items on her fingers, "We can try to figure out how to make fabrics from the wool Third Uncle brought back. There's also the tea trees Chen Jing'an sent back for transplanting, the tea plantations on Mo Ding Mountain, the tea gardens behind Dong Mountain, and the beans in the granary."
When the famine was severe, Xu Yu bought food from outside without being picky. As long as the price was right and the quantity was large, he would collect all the edible food and send it back to the northwest.
Rice, millet, sorghum, wheat and the like can be eaten at any time, but beans are different.
After the famine, most people who had choices in food would not choose beans as their meal. Now there are still piles of soybeans and more than 60 acres of beans planted this year.
Apart from those sold outside, the beans left in hand must be turned into silver.
Sang Zhixia looked up and said, "How about making soy sauce and soybean paste from the moldy beans?"
Xu Yu nodded and said absentmindedly, "You're right."
"But did you say Xu Minghui could fry pig skin, weave wool, and brew soy sauce to make soybean paste?"
Sang Zhixia: "???"
What does this mean?
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